Mobile Adjunct Security Konsultants
by Count Mallet
Summary: Speculative one-shot teaser scene. When VENOM gives up racing to focus exclusively on its criminal roots, MASK reinvents itself to battle the rebooted VENOM and offer cyber-security services to prospective clients. On the way to meet a one such client, Matt's newest agent witnesses a VENOM agent's criminal act. No objectionable content. [S37-F29-O16].


John Parker pulled up to Merchant's Mall. Despite passing it a number of times in his lifetime, he had never set foot inside the building. That was going to change today.

To learn his skills in network security attracted the attention of a certain Matt Trakker surprised him. The wealthy, globetrotting philanthropist hand picked him to part of a team called MASK. While using the letter "K" for the word "consultant" seemed a bit odd, Matt assured John it was his organizations brand identity. John couldn't argue with that.

Matt further explained how he led a team of skilled individuals against a criminal group known as VENOM. Originally, they remained masked in anonymity as they tried to one-up each other. That changed when VENOM decided to form a racing team that provided a cover for their subterfuge and criminal acts. Now, with VENOM giving up racing in favor of a criminal-only enterprise, Matt's MASK team needed to transition itself just as quick – especially since it was rumored that VENOM was possibly engaging in network-based terrorism.

John still was confused about his status as he entered the mall. Matt already had a computer and communications expert in Alex Sector. Matt's rationale for recruiting John was because Alex wasn't as savvy with modern-day network security. In addition, he was looking to slowly transition out of MASK because he had been one of the original members and he wanted to slowly retire back to his civilian occupation as the owner of an exotic pet shop. John recalled Alex's crash course on VENOM agents and what to look out for. Dealing with computers and personal devices was one thing. Having to deal with flesh and blood villains as well was a new wrinkle that came with John's new job description.

John then stopped at the mall's information map. The "you are here" button was easy to find. He quickly scanned the directory and map to see where Anna's Jade Emporium had its US office and store. For reasons unknown, they were concerned about VENOM, so Matt asked John to promote their newest network security services. John noted the office's location and took a deep breath.

"_I know the security products inside and out. Let's hope I'm a good salesman, too," _he thought to himself.

As John walked to where the stairs and escalator for the upper level were, a peculiar figure drew his attention. Somebody had shot a grappling cable into the upper level's ceiling and pulled herself up to it – at least the curved profile of the person suggested she was female. John watched the woman as she continued to ascend in mid-air. Her blue jumpsuit appeared to be rather nondescript, but the box-shaped mask that covered her head caught his attention. When he noticed that there was a branch of the Majestic Bank of London on the second level, he quickly figured out what might be happening.

"_She's not one of ours – that's got to be Vanessa from VENOM. She's gonna rob the bank!"_ John told himself. It paid to remember VENOM only had one female agent.

With only a briefcase holding his tablet and other documents, John wasn't exactly prepared to directly engage Vanessa. His own mask was still in his vehicle; there was no telling what would happen in the time it'd take to retrieve it. He quickly remembered that he had a low power laser hidden inside of his wristwatch. He extended his wrist towards Vanessa, but he quickly stopped himself.

"Too many people – I could catch someone else by accident. And if I miss, I won't stand a chance against her if she sees me," he said out loud.

He quickly found a hiding place under the stairs and activated another of his watch's built-in features: a 2-way radio.

"Matt, this is John, There's a female VENOM agent here, and I think she's about to rob the Majestic Bank. I'm in no position to pursue or stop her, though."

"I should be there in 5-10 minutes. Don't engage her, but try to keep a loose tail on her, if you can. If you lose her, just go to the Emporium. They're expecting you."

"Acknowledged."

John quickly ran up the stairs and did his best to look nonchalant as Vanessa finally ran out of the bank. The large sack she carried with her suggested she did in fact make an unplanned withdrawal.

John waited for Vanessa to run down along corridor. After taking a quick peek down the hallway, he waited for her to reach the end of the corridor and turn a corner. When he got to the same corner, though, it made a sharp turn. Not wanting to risk the possibility Vanessa was waiting to ambush him if he turned the corner, he chose to give up following her. He was all set to contact Matt again when he turned around and noticed the words "Anna's Jade Emporium" on the door in front of him. He entered the door and greeted the receptionist.

"Call the police, someone just robbed the Majestic Bank. I've got an associate on his way to help check things out as well."

* * *

><p>Matt Trakker drove as quickly as he could to the Merchant's Mall.<p>

"I never meant for John to be thrown into the fire on his first day," he said out loud. What was supposed to be a routine meeting with a potential client had now become an investigation – and possibly MASK's first post-racing mission. Although MASK's makeover resulted in a couple of new vehicles being deployed, Matt was thankful he kept the previous ones secured at their Boulder Hill headquarters.

As Matt arrived at the bank, he was greeted by one of the officers.

"Mr. Trakker, your associate has already spoken to us and given a statement. We can take it from here," he stated.

"I'd still like to take a look. I was told a VENOM agent robbed the bank. I don't know if you've heard, but they're back to their high-tech criminal ways again," Matt replied.

After taking a look around and taking note of a couple of items, Matt went to Anna's Jade Emporium to see if he needed to support or calm John down.

"Matt, the good news is they're definitely interested in our services after what happened today. They just want a few days to decide what they all want," John said.

"That **is** good news. At least something positive happened today. Are you okay?" Matt asked.

"I'm fine. I just didn't realize how adventurous it would be working for you."

"I can assure you it's not always like this. Today was supposed to be far more ordinary."

A woman ran into the main area. Matt noticed a panicked look on her face.

"Mr. Parker, something most unusual has happened," she told him.

"Ms. Wing, this is Matt Trakker, my boss of sorts. Matt, this is Jennifer Wing, the CEO of the US office."

"Ms. Wing, it's a pleasure to meet you, though it sounds like the circumstances could be better."

Ms. Wing escorted the MASK agents to the meeting room. It looked like any other room, but a window was broken and there were shards from a heavier glass item present as well.

"My assistant heard the noise, but he didn't see who did this. But someone stole our crystal trophy," she explained.

"What kind of Trophy?" Matt asked curiously.

"As you know, Mr. Trakker, we have three major worldwide offices: this one, one in Asia, and one in the UK. Every year, the office with the best sales numbers receives a reward of some sort. Last year, we finally topped the Asian office in sales, and we received a crystal trophy for the accomplishment. Now, someone has apparently stolen it – and damaged it in the process. It makes no sense. Why steal something so insignificant?"

As John listened to the conversation, he pondered it carefully. Finally, he asked, "Most multinational firms have one head office. Is yours in Asia?"

"You might think that, but ours is actually the UK office – in London."

"London … Matt, Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but do you think VENOM took it? They just robbed the Majestic Bank of London. Why they would take a trophy shipped from London still baffles me, but it makes some sort of twisted sense."

"I suppose we better consider the possibility. For your first day, you sure are sharp."

"As I told Mr. Parker, we are willing to have you update our security. With cyber terrorists hacking financial data all the time now, we want to assure our customers their private data is safe. I'd like to see him again in a few days so we can discuss the details," Ms. Wing said.

"That will be just fine. But if you'll excuse us, we have work to do – and we'll try to find out what happened to your trophy," Matt replied.

* * *

><p>A short time later, Matt and John met in the parking lot.<p>

"I hope your passport is up to date. It looks like you're coming to London."

"It's still got a few years left on it. I just hope it doesn't take more than a few days. Ms. Wing will be rather unhappy if we don't keep our appointment. I'm not about to lose my first sale," John replied.

"Don't worry, John, you'll be back in time. I'll make sure of it."

Matt looked at his tablet and entered some additional data before touching a button on the screen.

"Computer, select the best agents for a mission in London, England."

After a moment, the computer responded with a synthesized voice.

"Dr. Julio Lopez – occupation: physician. Vehicle code name: Raptor. Knowledge of cryptography will be important to this mission.

"Alex Sector – occupation: pet store owner. Vehicle code name: Rhino. Mission function: coordinate activity from home base in Boulder Hill.

"Bruce Sato – occupation: toy designer. Rhino system commander. Previous experience disarming weapons might be essential.

"Buddy Hawks – occupation: mechanic. Vehicle code name: Hurricane. Experience as a master of disguise could help with reconnaissance.

"John Parker preselected. Vehicle code name: Shadow Hunter. Selection complete."

"Personnel approved, assemble Mobile Adjunct Security Konsultants," Matt responded.

"Let's get going. VENOM already has a head start, and there's no telling what they'll do next."

Matt and John then got into Thunderhawk and Shadow Hunter respectively so they could return to their base and prepare for the mission. ▄

END

* * *

><p><strong>Acknowledgments: <strong>Very special thanks to Kenner and D.I.C. Enterprises, Inc. for the MASK franchise.

**Commentary:** This story was largely based on a recent dream. Another author, in her profile, addressed someone else's question as to what a possible third season of MASK might look like. I decided to take the dream, make some small tweaks and add some additional details. I believe that if MASK were to relaunch its cartoon today, it would need to update itself to include modern technology. I can easily see VENOM attempting to hack via the internet and other online acts of espionage. Consequently, MASK would have to remake itself into a force that could address these new threats.

Because I'm not completely sure which agents would be part of this rebooted version, I kept the cast at a bare minimum. Some original agents that didn't appear in the racing series might come back. Other agents might wish to retire or leave simply because their skills aren't the perfect match for the internet age. This makes a new agent all the more plausible. Similarly, VENOM might shuffle personnel as well. Although Vanessa was the villain of choice in the dream, I can definitely see Nash Gorey remaining as an evil network hacker (and providing a rivalry with my John Parker character).

Similarly, some vehicles might be changed. Although we don't officially know what happened to the original vehicles, I think it would be the wisest approach to keep them in storage as either backup vehicles or save them for a possible future use. That said, I've added two new vehicles. Raptor – a replacement for Firefly – is a McLaren M23 race car that appears as a prototype in my crossover fic, _Racing Into Knighthood_. A future story has the vehicle modified to use more modern-day technology such as a touch screen display for performance statistics and weapon targeting. Although I don't have an official vehicle in mind for Shadow Hunter, my initial idea is something that transforms into some sort of underwater vehicle to allow for the possibility Gloria/Shark and Calhoun/Raven might not be part of this new series.

Although this isn't a full-fledged episode or mission, I thought this would be an interesting teaser that offered one possibility for a rebooted MASK franchise.

Today is my third anniversary on the site, so this is my anniversary gift to my readers.


End file.
